Walgreens’ consumer relations has apologized for offending customers by labeling dozens of Christmas-specific items as "holiday" in its pre-Thanksgiving newspaper inserts last Sunday.

In responding to thousands of phone calls, Walgreens community affairs director John Gremer issued a statement to AFA, which says, in part: "During the months of October and November, we make greater use of the word ‘holiday’ to include celebrations such as Thanksgiving and Hanukkah. But as Christmas Day draws closer, you’ll see more references to the word ‘Christmas.’ That includes the message, ‘Merry Christmas,’ which will be on the front of our newspaper sales insert on Dec. 25.

"We fully agree with you that – while we’re helping customers celebrate a variety of holidays during this time of year – we should continue and increase the use of the word ‘Christmas’ when referring to items specifically for the Christmas holiday."

AFA is grateful to Walgreens for its response and willingness to listen to customer concerns. As a result, AFA is suspending its "Christmas Boycott" of Walgreens.

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